LISTEN LIVE!
HAVE YOUR SAY: 02071930174
Although there has been copious coverage on events in the USA, there was a significant decision made in the UK on November 8th, the very day that Americans wants to the polls to elect Donald Trump. After just hours of deliberation, the jury at Southwark Crown Court returned a verdict of not guilty at the perjury trial of police officer Paul White.
Sgt White was one of the custody sergeants at Brixton police station on the evening of 21st Mosiah (Aug) 2008, where 40 year-old Sean Rigg died whilst being detained. In Mosiah 2012, an inquest jury at Southwark Coroner’s Court returned a verdict criticising the actions of the police, including the unsuitable use of force on Bro. Sean.
This case was not determining direct responsibility for the death, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) determined that there was “insufficient evidence to provide a realistic prospect of conviction against the arresting officers.” (1) This case revolved around White’s detailed assertions, firstly in March 2009 to the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC), secondly under oath the inquest in July 2012, that he left the south London custody suite to check on Bro. Sean in the back of the police van. These assertions were later contradicted by CCTV evidence. (2)
In spite of the outcome, the trial represented the latest in a series of legal landmarks for the Sean Rigg case. Not only was it the first time criminal charges for perjury have been bought against a serving police officer following a death in police custody, it was also the first ever use of the Victim’s Right of Review to change an original CPS not to prosecute a police officer. (3)
The CPS’ own charging standard, based on section 1{1} of the Perjury Act 1911, determines that perjury is committed when:
· a lawfully sworn witness or interpreter
· in judicial proceedings
· wilfully makes a false statement
· which he knows to be false or does not believe to be true, and
· which is material in the proceedings.
The offence is triable only on indictment and carries a maximum penalty of seven years’ imprisonment and/or a fine. (4)
To all intents and purposes this appeared to be the archetypal ‘open and shut case’ given the proven falsity of the officer’s statements. That his defence that, he actually believed that he had checked on Bro. Sean and was “shell-shocked” when confronted with the truth, actually swayed the jury, left the family “devastated.” As Bro. Sean’s older Sister Marcia shared:
“The jury’s verdict was a surprise to me and my family, but I will continue to fight for full accountability for those officers who were on duty at Brixton Police Station. That a custody sergeant can give false evidence in connection with a death in custody, something he accepts he did, is a shocking state of affairs. I await the MPS decision on disciplinary charges on this issue.
The fact that Sgt White’s defence rested on the failure of the IPCC to challenge his false evidence in March 2009 is a cause of significant public concern. The public is entitled to expect better from the police and those who are charged with ensuring police accountability. (5)
I will be raising with the CPS, and if necessary Parliamentarians, the question of what ‘agreed facts’ go before criminal juries in relation to deaths in custody, given that the narrative conclusion of the inquest jury was excluded from the criminal trial.”
It would make sense if the “Parliamentarians” included Prime Minister Theresa May who, while Home Secretary, made very public statement seemingly empathising with the families of those died in police custody. (6) She subsequently established an independent review into deaths and serious incidents in police custody, chaired by Dame Elish Angiolini DBE QC. The review, scheduled for a “summer 2016” publication has yet to be released. (7). Moreover, recorded responses to the verdict have thus far been as hard to find from Mrs May, as they have from her successor at the home office Amber Rudd – and their equivalents in the opposition for that matter.
In his seminal April 1963 civil rights tract, Letter from a Birmingham Jail, the Rev Dr Martin Luther King Jr, referencing “one of our distinguished jurists,” mused that “justice too long delayed is justice denied.” (8)
It is a phrase that has maintained its tragic efficacy from that time to the present.
As indicated above, the Sean Rigg case has made legal history – and may yet do so again. The weight of history would ordinarily have snuffed this process out, as it has done for many others, years ago, were it not for the resilience of the family and Sis. Marcia in particular. However, on the rare occasions that the justice system fails to put such cases to bed it always seems able to rely on the good old British jury to save the day for the state, as the typified in the Azelle Rodney murder case and Mark Duggan inquest where juries turn logic on its head in pursuit of police acquittals. (9)
(1) Fiona Simpson (15/09/16) Sean Rigg: Police will not face trial over death of musician at Brixton police station. http://www.standard.co.uk/news/crime/sean-rigg-police-will-not-face-trial-over-death-of-musician-after-being-restrained-at-brixton-police-a3346231.html.(2) BBC Local News – London (31/10/16) Sean Rigg death: Brixton custody sergeant ‘clearly lied’. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-37822673.(3) INQUEST (08/11/16) Police sergeant found ‘not guilty’ of perjury following the death of Sean Rigg in 2008. http://www.inquest.org.uk/media/pr/police-sergeant-found-not-guilty-of-perjury-following-the-death-of-sean-rig.(4) CPS (21/03/12) Public Justice Offences incorporating the Charging Standard. http://www.cps.gov.uk/legal/p_to_r/public_justice_offences_incorporating_the_charging_standard/#a11.(5) INQUEST, Op. cit.(6) Vikram Dodd (19/04/15) Theresa May admits justice system fails families over deaths in police custody. https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/apr/19/theresa-may-admits-justice-system-fails-families-deaths-police-custody-sean-rigg-olaseni-lewis.(7) Home Office (26/02/16) Closed consultation – Independent review of deaths and serious incidents in police custody. https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/independent-review-of-deaths-and-serious-incidents-in-police-custody.(8) Rev Dr Martin Luther King Jr (16/04/63) Letter from a Birmingham Jail. http://www.africa.upenn.edu/Articles_Gen/Letter_Birmingham.html.(9) Annette Mackin (07/07/15) Azelle Rodney cop walks free after trial. https://socialistworker.co.uk/art/40888/Azelle+Rodney+cop+walks+free+after+trial.
So tonight we ask the question:
Sean Rigg – Justice delayed, denied and demolished?
1. What do the police have to do to be found guilty?
2. Were you surprised by the acquittal?
3. Must juries now be considered as part unjust state apparatus?
4. If so, how can it be addressed?
5. Given the Prime Minister’s previous pronouncements on this, why has the government’s response been so muted? What is the opposition view?
6. Where can the case go now?
7. What can the community do collectively to address this issue?
Our very special guests:
Bro. Ldr. Mbandaka: Resident guest who is Spiritual Leader of the Alkebu-Lan Revivalist Movement and UNIA-ACL Ambassador for the UK and national co-Chair of the interim National Afrikan People’s Parliament. Bro. Ldr is a veteran activist of over 30 years standing, a featured columnist in The Whirlwind newspaper and author of Mosiah Daily Affirmations and Education: An African-Centred Guide To Excellence.
Sis. Askale Miriam (Marcia Rigg): is the older sister of Bro. Sean Rigg who died in Brixton Police station on 21/08/2008. Sis. Askale has lead the campaign to get justice for her brother, compelling her to give up her 20-year career as a legal PA in the City, as leading the campaign “has been like a full time job.” Although the campaign is ongoing it has scored some significant legal victories against the state. Sis. Askale is the current Chair of the United Friends and Families Campaign (UFFC), a coalition of those affected by deaths in police, prison and psychiatric custody.
Hear weekly discussions and lively debate on all issues affecting the Afrikan community, at home and abroad. We talk it straight and make it plain!
ASwA Hosted by Sis Kai Ouagadou-Mbandaka and Bro ShakaRa
CLICK HERE to view latest AFRIKA SPEAKS show details. Leave a comment and contribute to the discussion.
Afrika Speaks with Alkebu-Lan
Galaxy Radio | 102.5fm | http://www.galaxyafiwe.com (To listen live)
HAVE YOUR SAY: 02071930174
MONDAY 8pm-10pm
International Listeners:
4-6 pm Eastern Caribbean Time
12-2 pm Pacific Standard Time
1-3 pm Mountain Standard Time
2-4 pm Central Standard Time
3-4 pm Eastern Standard Time
We often stand back and see these issues as :”Other people’s affairs but when it affects us or members of our families then we realise the importance of having those like yourselves who are championing these issues with the police and the unfair Laws!”